Page 3 of Madness Becomes Her

A bottle glows on the table as if it’s heard my thoughts. The tag suddenly changes, transforming into English before my very eyes.

Drink me.

Looking up, I realize there’s no way I’m getting out of here. But the logical side of my brain is screaming at me to find a way.

“I can’t drink the contents of some magical bottle that’s been rotting underground for who knows how long, right?” I say aloud again, feeling madder by the second.

Licking my parched lips, I grab the bottle.

It cools in my hand, only making my mouth water.

“Oh, fuck it. What more could honestly happen to me today?”

Pulling the wood topper out, I give the contents an appreciative whiff.

It smells like caramel, but it’s fizzy…

Shrugging, I toss it back, moaning at the delicate flavors on my tongue.

A latent buzzing worms through my body as the fermented drink lulls me into a complacent state.

“Yum!” I eye the empty bottle longingly, wishing there’d been more.

The world around me rumbles, and I drop the glass.

Its shattering makes me jump back.

There’s nothing to hold on to this time. Nowhere to go.

If the ceiling collapses…

Turning, I find a door.

That wasn’t there before.

I flick my eyes between the broken bottle and the door, wondering if it had been some kind of elixir.

No. Things like that don’t exist, Eleanor. Stop being insane.

But… people also don’t fall through the earth and land in random rooms with magical bottles, either.

In another moment offuck it,I grab the door handle, open it, and walk through.

On the other side stands a rabbit.

I say stands because he’s on his back two feet.

There’s a monocle in one of his eyes. He’s thumping one of his feet rather quickly, and he’s eyeing a gold pocket watch, shaking his head.

“Ahh, there you are. Right on time. Good. I don’t like a dilly-dally.”

“Excuse me? On time for what?”

“Why, tea time, of course?”

“Tea?”

“Come, come. We must make haste. Hatter doesn’t like late arrivals. They make him positively furious!”